Inside The Bills

DAILY REPORT–The 2013 NFL Draft continues tonight with Rounds Two and Three beginning at 6:30 PM. The final rounds (Four-Seven) will start at Noon on Saturday. The Bills are penciled in with two selections in Round Two (41st and 46th overall) and one in the third-round (78th overall).

–The Buffalo Bills selected Florida St. QB E.J. Manuel in the first-round of the 2013 NFL Draft last night with the 16th overall selection – after exchanging first-round draft positions with the St. Louis Rams. In the trade, Buffalo acquired the Rams’ 46th overall and 222nd overall selections while swapping third-round choices (71st for 78th).

–Bills RB C.J. Spiller takes fans behind-the-scenes of the making of the team’s 2013 season ticket marketing campaign on BuffaloBills.com. The recharged season ticket commercial aired during last night’s Draft Special and can be seen here >>>

–Buffalo WR T.J. Graham will host the second annual ‘T.J. Graham Skills Challenge’ on Saturday, April 27th in Raleigh, NC. Graham’s skills challenge will showcase high school football players from those the area as participants will compete in a variety of drills throughout the day. Graham will host a second event on May 25 in Buffalo, NY.

PHOTOS OF THE DAYBills first-round draft selection QB E.J. Manuel poses for a picture with two fans inside of Entercom Radio studios this morning prior to his radio tour.

Bills first-round pick QB E.J. Manuel (right) with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell with a No. 1 Buffalo Bills jersey after being selected by the team with the 16th overall draft pick at Radio City Music Hall last night.

QUOTES OF THE DAYOn what appeals to him about the Buffalo Bills:“Well the system that Coach Hackett was teaching me when I went up to Buffalo and met with him. That is probably what intrigued me the most. I actually called my agent as soon as I finished with him and I said, ‘Man, I really hope Buffalo takes me because I feel like I can fit into the system perfectly.’ Like I said, I am going to learn from the veteran guys they already have and just go out there to try and earn the respect of my teammates.” – Bills first-round draft selection QB E.J. Manuel

On what it means to be the first quarterback selected in the 2013 NFL Draft:“It means a lot. This goes down as probably the best day, the best night of my life. To be the first quarterback taken in the NFL Draft, to be a first rounder, to be taken by the Buffalo Bills considering where I started from in January to this day now is…I am just so proud and happy for the team I have and the people who helped me get to this point.” – Bills first-round draft selection QB E.J. Manuel

On the leadership characteristics QB E.J. Manuel displays:“Well obviously we are excited about adding him to our team and he does bring, like you said, a lot of intangibles. I think one of the things that you see when he walks into a room is just his presence. And again, he has had great leadership ability at Florida St. where he has been amongst his teammates. I think that one of the important things when he comes in here is, again, earning the trust of our players. I think that is the first thing that you have to do. He will come in here and he will compete for the quarterback position. He has a lot in front of him. It is a situation where he is going to have to earn the trust of the players on this football team already and he is going to have to obviously learn the system.” – Bills Head Coach Doug Marrone

On what he likes about QB E.J. Manuel and when they had him pinned as the top quarterback on the team’s board:“As you know we did a lot of work on these guys. We felt like we knew them about as well as you could from a distance. This guy to us has got the upside to be whatever you want him to be. All these quarterbacks had good qualities. We said that from the start. This is a guy that can do both. It was when we finished the process. We wanted to see everybody in the same situation. Bringing them (in), talking to them and going over it. We did not make a decision until after we finished the last visit with the quarterbacks.” – Bills General Manager Buddy Nix

Additional ClipsInside The BillsMayock thinks E.J. can be special, Manuel’s leadership evident, Manuel’s big arm will help in Buffalo, Manuel jersey number, What Bills want in a QB, Bills goal is to land 3 starters, Starts and comp. pct. matter in QB evals, Former GM-Players on the move tonight, Some QB metrics that favor Manuel, Nassib, Mock Draft Watch: Final summary, Bills QB decision-”Million Dollar Question”, Manuel sees himself as early pick, What numbers are available to Bills draftees?, Why trading back so attractive this year, Dansby update, McShay’s final mock has QB to Bills, Mort: Bills pick at 8 attracting attention